Moment by Moment

Thursday, December 27, 2012

"Grace" A silkscreen print by Suzanne Halstead and mosaic frame by Margaret Almon

We are indeed drawing nearer to 2013, only a few days hence...

This past year has been full of joys and sorrows and many changes too - in location, jobs, leaving friends and making new ones. Most recently adding a rescue cat into our lives while mourning the tragic loss of life in CT & NY and frankly, around the globe.
Grace, God's Grace is needed now more then ever as we wrestle the realities of climate change, gun control and health care - to mention a few...
Grace is a tough word to comprehend. We say, "grace" at meals, we sing, "...God shed his grace on thee..." We wonder at how grace happens through communion, through prayer and even with the phrase, "grace under firer..." We notice when someone is being graceful, or may intone the words, "Hail Mary, full of grace." How do we become grace-full and grace-filled in a world that seems "out of control" right now? So much pain, so much sadness, so much need! The cries come in the mail box, on Facebook, or from concerned friends each day - worthy causes, organizations and institutions each trying in their own way to stem the tide of suffering for men, women, children, animals and the earth itself. Its overwhelming. It can lead to depression or anger, despondency or ambivalence.
"Where is God in all this?" - we may ask. Emmanuel! God is with us. Gracing us always with the passion and compassion that moves us to be aware, to care and then to share. Grace is love in action.
If we allow God to fill us up with Grace, then to be grace-filled is to overflow with the action of loving others as ourselves. I pray that this new year each of us will be filled to overflowing with the individual passion of our hearts and that compassion will live out in this world to bring the hope, peace, joy and love that is so needed now and always. So be it! Welcome Yule!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Wanda and I have been a bit remiss in contributing to our Drawing Nearer blog lately – lately as
in almost a year! So I thought, since much
has changed in my life, that I would take a stab at catching the blog up to the
present (at least from my perspective).

OK – here goes. First
and foremost, I must say a heartfelt “Thank you” to all my dear friends and
family who have seen me through this transition of leaving my beloved labyrinth
and home in Pottstown, PA for new adventures in Berea, OH. Husband Gary received a call from a wonderful
church there and we felt the Spirit confirming that, “Yes” we did need to move
AGAIN and be in ministry on the west side of Cleveland.

What happened to the
9 Fruit of Spirit stain glass mosaics?

"Fruits of the Spirit" next to labyrinth

They came with us of course!
But first we had a spirit-filled dedication for these beautifully
crafted word-art pieces as we walked the labyrinth with two-dozen artists and
friends on October 1, 2011. Artists
Margaret Almon, mosaics and Wayne Stratz, stain glass are know together as Nutmeg Designs and collaborated to
create the 9 “Fruits” with myself as mosaic border maker, grouter and sealer of
each piece. Joy, Love, Peace, Patients,
Kindness, Self-Control, Goodness, Gentleness, & Faithfulness graced our
Yarnall Road home & studio till January 2012 when we packed them up and
moved to our new Elmwood Drive home & studio.

What about the
ministry of Drawing Nearer?

Wanda Schwandt and I continue to maintain our website and to offer
our printed resources, retreats and workshops using our Drawing Nearer process of prayer experiences blended with creative
activities. Of course it is more
difficult to do our jointly led workshops & retreats since we are
now 7 hours apart! However this also gives us the opportunity to reach out to communities both in
southeast PA and northeast OH. We
are delighted that more and more folks are using our resources to delve deeper
into their personal spiritual journey and also with groups large &
small.

During the process of working together on the “Fruits” project,
Margaret Almon and I came up with the idea of creating new collaborative
artworks using my expressive oil pastels and her mosaic design expertise. This turned into a series of truly unique
artworks we call our Marzanne Collection(Margaret
+ Suzanne). To see more of these inspirational works like "Orange Nautilus" (on the banner), visit Margaret's Etsy
Shop where they can be seen and purchased: http://www.etsy.com/shop/nutmegdesigns

"Worship" by Suzanne Halstead

The artwork used in our book, Drawing Nearer: Devotional Workbook of Creative Prayer continues to
be available on our website. Some of the
original oil pastels are already sold, however you may still purchase a quality
giclee print of any of the 48 images. If
you are interested in these pieces or the artwork in our Advent Angels booklet, please contact Suzanne directly: shalstead@wowway.com to purchase the artwork
or for any other information about the artwork.

To learn more about how my passion of art making came to be
and also the story of how it came to be used in the Drawing Nearer book, you
may be interested in reading this 2-part interview:

About Us

Two authors and retreat leaders: Suzanne Halstead, artist and educator and Wanda Schwandt, pastor and writer. Visit our website: www.DrawingNearer.com for more information about us and our fresh approach to art and prayer experiences.